Blank Slate
by YeahtoBleh
Summary: He had vowed to make Ranma's life a living hell for what he had put him through, but life saw fit to step in and do it for him. For there was nothing worse than losing yourself, he'd been doing it his whole life. But unlike him, Ranma didn't have the luxury of knowing that eventually you would find your way back.
1. Chapter 1

Genma entered the hospital waiting room. The occupants looked up as he arrived, he could see the questions leaping from their eyes. Of course his friend Soun and his daughters were present, worry evident on their faces. But all paled in comparison to his wife's tear streaked face.

"How is he? how is our boy?" demanded Nodoka breaking the silence with fresh tears falling from her eyes.

He met his wife's gaze with a look of trepidation, not knowing how he should proceed. He swallowed thickly.

"The doctors are sure Ranma will recover just fine physically.." There were sighs of relief from those fretting over the pigtailed martial artist's health. But none missed the specified area of recovery.

"Physically?" Nabiki asked. She had never seen the elder Saotome look so worried. She wasn't used to seeing genuine emotion from the man, only the fake water works used in his guilt trips to try and manipulate Ranma and her sister.

He faltered under their gazes. "They just returned from surgery, uh..Brain surgery." The response was immediate, everyone shouting their questions and concern at once. Genma raised his hand to gain enough silence to finish.

"There were multiple skull fractures and..and they think they reacted quickly enough to avoid, brain damage.." The last words were barely a whisper but it was heard by all.

Akane buried herself into Kasumi's arms and began to sob, and muttering unintelligibly. The eldest sister comforted the crying girl as best she could as Nodoka rose to her feet and strode quickly in front of her husband.

"Take me to our child." she hissed through gritted teeth and a tear streaked face. He nodded and led her through the doors he had just exited.

The images being displayed to the Saotome's made little difference to the worries for their child as the surgeon gestured and pointed as he attempted to explain what was done and why.  
"Will our child recover or not?! I don't give a damn how or why you did what you did to save my baby's life! I need to know if he will be alright!" The shout startled the doctor although it was a common occurrence with such an emotional situation. Genma gently grabbed the distressed mother's hand to give what reassurance he could to his wife.

"As I told your husband, physically I have no doubt of complete recovery. But as there was significant cranial damage there is no certainty of her mental state upon waking." He hated this part, the blame that not enough was done to save their loved one when confronted with less than pleasant news. Honestly he was surprised that the patient had survived, that much blood loss along with the head trauma was enough that the fact that she was alive was a miracle.

The distraught mother threw herself into her husbands embrace and began to weep. This was a parents nightmare, especially to one who had just recently been reunited with her only child after ten years.

"I'm sorry but all we can do now is wait, she's been transferred from the ICU. Here is the room number." The doctor departed, leaving the couple as he strode to his next immediate patient.

3 months later.

"Moooom! it's f-fine. Stop messing w-with it, it's not a big deal." Was the response Nodoka Saotome got while she fussed over Ranma's short hair. While not messy it was just too short to really do anything with. With a sigh she gave up her ministrations and they continued their way to the doctor's office.

"I'll be much happier once it grows out more dear, short hair just doesn't suit you." She sighed, once again running her hand through the short hair. Her hand was gently moved to her side and held as they continued to Ranma's appointment. A smile played upon the teenagers lips as they made their way to a medium sized complex. The words Dr. Akamatsu were displayed proudly upon the glass door of the third building down. With an exaggerated bow Ranma opened the door for her mother, eliciting a grin and eye roll at her antics.

Stepping through to the waiting room Nodoka went to sign them in as Ranma took her usual seat by the window. As she reached for what was sure to be an extremely outdated magazine there was a growl to her left from the far wall. Suddenly there was an irate dark haired boy in a yellow shirt in front of her.

"Ranma! Finally done hiding and come to face me like a man?!" he snarled. Startling the now wide eyed petite redhead as well as the other patients already waiting.

"I-I d-don't..." Ranma began only to be cut off by the now furious boy. He gripped the arm rests on either side of her.

"Real cute, but I'm done falling for your 'innocent girl' acts, Now get up and fight me or..!" The point of a sword suddenly upon his throat denied him the rest of his verbal assault. He hadn't even heard it being unsheathed. The other patients now in a near panic began to leave the building, not wanting to be caught up in what was transpiring in their midst.

Nodoka, having stopped his tirade and moved him away from the still startled girl pierced him with a glare sharper than the sword currently at his throat. The bandana clad youth gulped, wincing as he was nicked.

"Explain why you have verbally and nearly physically assaulted my daughter before I exact my due for this disrespect and end your life." It was hissed with such vehemence that Ranma could scarcely believe this was her mother.

"Daughter..?.." Was her response as the boy trembled, hands raised in surrender.

Her eyes narrowed further. "Yes, my daughter. Who are you and what has she done to warrant such a reaction upon sight." It wasn't a request, it was a demand from an angry mother protecting her child.

"I, I thought she was some, someone else!" he stammered. "I'm very sorry, It was a mistake! I thought she was Ranma Saotome!"

"That is my daughters name." she growled, pressing the blade further onto the boys throat eliciting a whimper.

A hand gently gripped her elbow and she turned to see her child. A worried look upon her beautiful face.  
"Let him g-go Mother." She turned to the frightened boy. "He s-said he w-w-as sorry." she pleaded.

His eyes never leaving the wielder of his potential doom, Ryoga Hibiki began to breathe heavily. The beginnings of his life flashing before his eyes. As the blade began to move his eyes squeezed shut of their own volition, his mind not wanting to witness his own end. The pressure on his throat was removed and with a gasp he fell to the floor.

"Explain yourself."

He looked up into the cold eyes of the woman and felt as if the blade were still pressed against his throat.

After the cancelling and subsequent rescheduling of her daughters appointment Nodoka demanded that the boy follow them to their home for his explaination. The elder Saotome walked at a moderate pace with her daughter at her side, the latter of which kept throwing curious glances back towards the young man who shuffled miserably behind them. The silence between the three remained until they arrived at their destination. The two redheads had halfway ascended to the properties front gate when they noticed the boy still standing at street level with a rather confused look.

"I cannot imagine how a home could fluster someone so completely." Ryoga flinched at the tone, knowing he deserved it but becoming more confused as the day went on.

He swallowed quickly. "I just. I mean..Ranma lives here?" The aforementioned nodded and he continued.  
"What about the Tendos?"

A strained look crossed the Saotome matriarch's face before turning and continuing through the front gate of her home, Ranma following dutifully behind her. A sigh escaped from the lost boy not for the first time since being ordered to follow them after his almost attack. One deep breath later and he followed the duo into the home to hopefully explain himself and leave with his head still attached, along with some answers to many questions of his own.

Stating that such a 'meeting' would not due without at least basic refreshments, her tradional upbringing shining through. Nodoka left the teenagers in the dining room as she set about preparing for their..discussion, but not before sending another glare towards the nervous looking young man.

The only sounds disturbing the silence around the two were from the kitchen, the telltale sound of a kettle filled and placed on a burner for tea, along with the tinkling of porcelian cups.  
Ranma scrutinized the boy across from her, who seemed to be looking everywhere but her. His eyes lingering on the pictures that hung along the walls. He paled and averted his eyes to the dining table when he came across the decorative wall of family swords, not all katanas like her mothers. He was understandably nervous, few wouldn't be in his situation. She was certain she would be a puddle on the floor after receiving such looks from her mother, she'd never seen such a look of fury upon her mother's face. Not even when Father had stumbled in late one night, having drunk himself into a stuper.

Her thoughts were interrupted with her mother's return. Ranma quickly moved from her seat to unburden her of the kettle, tray of cups, and half dozen of her mother's homemade matcha cookies. Earning her a pleased smile and a quiet "Thank you dear." Ryoga watched the exchange, and it befuddled him even further. For to him this was an uncharacteristic display of manners and respect he had never seen from the younger redhead.

As her child busied herself with serving the tea and snacks, Nodoka sat and waited patiently. Knowing if she began before Ranma finished she would be quite miffed with her, needing everything in it's proper place before she could return to her seat and serve herself. Now seated with a pleased expression Ranma nodded as she took a small sip of tea.  
The polite clearing of a throat snapped Ryoga's disbelieving stare from the spectacle before him to the near forgotten reason for his being there.

"Now young man, explain the reasoning behind attacking my child without any warning or provocation." The steely tone cut through his confused train of thought quickly and he fought the unbidden stammer that attempted to creep into his words.

"I'm uh, I mean.." he paused and panic was evident upon his face. He began to fidget uncomfortably as he fought for words.

"Take y-your t-time, try and con-control your breathing."

He looked to the girl across from him, surprised. She had not spoken since her failed attempts when he began his tirade in the doctor's office. Nodding relunctantly he closed his eyes and began to take measured breaths. Unaware to the boy was the proud look Ranma's mother was directing towards her child. Completely unnoticed of course, as her attention was on the young man seated before them.

Eyes still closed Ryoga began again. "I'm Ryoga Hibiki," he paused to lick his lips. "I attacked..Ranma, because that's what I always do..?" He winced at his response as he heard a sharp intake of breath and opened his eyes to find two nearly identical pairs of surprised expressions.

"I assumed you knew her from a past transgression, but I did not expect such a thing to be spoken as if it was common occurence."

As the boy now known to them as Ryoga Hibiki began his tale of 'betrayal and cowardice' the two Saotome's listened on with muted disbelief and stifled giggles, which eventually turned to commiseration when he described not being able to have a home or a real family due to his lack of sense of direction. When the lost boy had finished, he expected many things to be directed at him in the eyes of this fiercely protective woman. But compassion was not one of them. He was startled when Ranma suddenly stood and gave a short bow to both her mother and himself and left the room.

At his bewildered look the woman sighed. "We have much to discuss Ryoga-kun."

'I've only been gone for five months, I can't believe all this has happened.'

Ryoga sat cross legged in the Saotome's back courtyard, his mind racing with what he had been told. The head trauma and subsequent memory loss, not just a few days or weeks, All of it.  
Ranma couldn't remember anything, she was essentially a blank slate. Just waiting for everything to be filled in. And the fact that Nodoka had told him of the necessary lock of the curse.

It wasn't made on some whim to give Ranma a fresh start, it had to be done, or a single mishap could have killed her. The surgery to repair her skull had needed metal plates and various screws. One splash of hot water and the martial artist's skull would have been split apart with the change from young woman to man, however small the difference in head size. The plates were there and would be there the rest of her life. He shuddered just thinking about it.

Ryoga had been invited to stay for dinner, but shooed from the kitchen when he asked if there was anything he could do to help. Ranma hadn't come back since he told them his story and how he knew her from back in middle school. But he could hear muffle voices from inside, so he assumed she had come out to help Nodoka with dinner.

Always having to wander to find his way back to civilization, he never felt comfortable sitting for too long doing nothing. So he stood, stretched lightly, and began a kata to maybe help clear his head. Although midway through he paused, left leg still held aloft from his kick. He lowered his leg and moved out of stance, something didn't feel right. It was odd, every strike, every block, and his footwork had been perfect. He had done this kata countless times, it was his customary warm up of the day. But it felt off, not wrong, just...He shook his head. It was probably from what he had spoken to Mrs. Saotome about. His mind was simply elsewhere.

Ranma had watched him from the kitchen window as she helped prepare their upcoming meal. His story had fascinated her as well as saddened. She had enjoyed hearing of their experiences in middle school, the spars and just being friends. Although the bread 'stealing' did seem as if she were just teasing him, good natured but just simply misconstrued. She would ask Pops about it when she saw him next, her mother had said he was on a two week "training trip" with his friend.

She grinned. 'Mom used air quotes and everything.'

Of course when he began describing how he waited in the alley for their fight and she never showed, the expression on his face was heartbreaking. Although he sounded angry, you could tell how much it had upset him that not only had she not been there, but had left completely. She felt guilty even if she couldn't recall the memory, it seemed that she had been his only friend back then.

Then how he followed them all the way to China had stunned her, to go to so much trouble over a "bread feud." Obviously he had been deeply hurt by what happened, although she was sure getting him to admit it would be impossible. But to just drop everything to track and follow them all the way to China? Especially if how he described his sense of direction wasn't overly exaggerated, it must have been beyond difficult. She felt impossibly guilty, even if a lot of what happened wasn't really within her control. But it all stemmed from her abandoning her friend, although from how Pops described their training trip he most likely owed someone money and they had to take off. After she worked herself up to apologize to Ryoga, she would make Pops as well. Even if he refused, her mother was quite...persuasive.

"I'll finish up here dear, why don't you inform our guest that dinner will begin shortly?"

Ranma looked up, pulled from her thoughts. "Me? B-  
But I-I.."

Her mother gave her 'The Look' which brooked no argument.

"Just take your time and control your breathing sweetheart."

Frowning at her mother for tossing back her own advice from earlier, she removed her apron and begrudgingly left to do as she was told. While she appreciated the fact that she was only trying to help, it still irked her when her mother forced her into these kind of situations. It was so embarrassing stumbling over her own words, not to mention frustrating.

Sighing she made her way outside. Her palms slightly damp from nerves.

He still stood where he had been while she observed from the kitchen, only now he appeared to be deep in thought as he stared at his hands. She was only a few feet away now, and he still hadn't acknowledged her presence. Or maybe just hadn't noticed. Oh how she hated having to begin a conversation, or even just get someone's attention. They either assumed she was mentally challenged or some insanely shy girl with no self esteem to speak of. With a defeated sigh she took a page from her mother's book and cleared her throat politely. The effect was immediate, his eyes snapped up to meet her own with bewilderment.

They just stood awkwardly looking at one another for a moment. Ranma's foot began to toe the dirt as was wont to do when she was anxious. Feeling ridiculous the red head took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"D-Dinner is ready Ryoga-s-san." she said and grimaced, immediately turning and making her way back into the house.

Ryoga watched her leave, crushing any pity he felt bubbling within. He hated being pitied for something that he had no control over, he got it often enough when he was travelling. Even more so from those that knew him. It wasn't her fault, nothing about what happened had been. Nodoka's tale still very fresh in his mind, he was still trying to come to grips with most of it. His problems didn't seem so bad compared to the nightmare of waking up in a hospital room full of strangers, not knowing where or who you were, barely able to speak. Confused, scared and everything in between. He had vowed to make Ranma's life a living hell for what he had put him through, but life saw fit to step in and do it for him. For there was nothing worse than losing yourself, he'd been doing it his whole life. But unlike him, Ranma didn't have the luxury of knowing that eventually you would find your way back.

"Nine months!?" The shout startled the various people who milled about on their daily business, giving curious looks to the strange man with the excessively large pack. The aforementioned stared wide eyed at the newspaper in his hands. He couldn't believe it, nine months..that was almost a year! Almost a year he had been away from Japan, away from his home.

He guessed the silver lining was that he was finally back, although he still groaned in frustration at his sense of direction. It almost seemed to be getting worse, getting lost for longer each time. At this rate he would never find his way back, just living in the wilderness for the rest of his life. Or rather wildernesses, for he was certain he'd wander off to a different one every so often. He grinned at his self depreciative humor, after all the best jokes had some truth to them.

The newspaper was in Japanese, which was a relief. Even though he had become quite multilingual from his travels he still preferred the language of the place of his birth. He sighed in relief, finally he was home, or as close to it as he could get on his own. First things first though, he needed a bath. Streams and rivers could only do so much. He asked a passerby where the nearest sento was, the kind old woman pointed the way only to be perplexed when the young man turned in the opposite direction. When she corrected his course and he again began to wander off the woman took pity on the poor boy and led him there.

Ryoga bowed his thanks to the woman. He was of course grateful that she had helped him, but the familiar look of pity always got to him. Sighing he made his way into the public baths, he bypassed the lockers for storing ones things. Knowing from experience it was possible it could take him a while to find his way back to them. And he didn't feel like wandering about naked, again relying on the kindness and pity of strangers to find his way. He would keep his pack within reaching distance, better safe than sorry.

Freshly bathed he began his search of a clothing store, any store really. Along with new clothes he also needed to replenish his supplies, boy was he looking forward to having toilet paper again.

After an hour of wandering and still no luck he asked another passerby where the nearest store was. He was quite embarrassed when the teenager simply pointed behind him. It was a small shop nestled in between two slightly larger buildings, a simple general store, which was perfect. He entered and began to look for the items he needed, being sure to take his time. When he was in a rush it was more likely that he would get lost, so when in stores and other such establishments he was very careful to be in no hurry.

His progress was interrupted however by a lilting voice.

"Heya P-chan."

The greeting froze him in place. Someone here knew him and his curse, even what his other form was called! Trying not to panic he turned to see...no one? Looking around he only saw the shelves filled with various items for sale. Somehow not even registering the cashier at the front.

"You're as oblivious as a-always bacon butt."

Ryoga's eyes snapped to the front of the store. And there, leaning against the counter, a small smirk playing on her lips was...

"Ranma?"

"Took you long enough Ryoga, w-was wondering if you'd gone blind!" she laughed.

"Wha..What are you doing here? Am I in Nerima?"

Tucking some hair behind her ear Ranma sighed dramatically.

"Lost as ever huh? A-Although you've usually turned up at some point before th-this long."

Ryoga looked slightly miffed by her comment, but he was used to Ranma's remarks about his sense of direction. He took a breath to return in kind but stopped short and looked again at the redhead before him. Her hair was longer and tied back into a loose tail, and was wearing what he assumed was the uniform for the store and a familiar cocky grin on her lips.

He had waited until the end of her shift as she requested, leaning against the wall just outside the store. It hadn't been long, but with his mind racing as it was it might as well have been hours.

Exiting the store she was lifting a satchel to settle on her shoulder as she bid farewell to someone. She turned to him with a grin a beckoned him to follow her.

"Come on, we can talk on the way to my h-house, I'm sure Mom will be pleasantly surprised t-to see you again."

"So.." he began.

She laughed and imitated him in an exaggerated manner. "SoOo..!"

Frowning he continued. "You seem..better?" The last word sounding more like he was questioning himself rather than the girl walking next to him.

"Aww, you noticed. Well, yes and no.." She trailed off, waving to someone she knew.

"I started to get headaches a f-few weeks after you attacked me, A poor defenseless girl!" She continued, putting her fists under her chin with mock fear. Earning a glare from her companion, although she didn't miss the slight quirk to his lips.

"We didn't know what it meant, a-and the doctors checked for any problems, but they didn't find anything. It came and went for a while, some d-days were worse than others of course. Painkillers were my best friend at that point!" Ranma laughed. "But n-nothing really came of it until the doctors declared me well enough for physical activity."

She looked to the Lost Boy and found him hanging on her every word.

"Pops thought it would b-be best if he taught me tai chi, said it would be a good starting p-point after I'd been inactive for so long." She shrugged. "Mom agreed, so a few days later he took me to the back of the h-house to walk me through the basics." At this Ranma smirked. "I immediately went through the entire kata he had b-begun to show me, you should have seen his face! Hell, I wish I had s-seen Mine!"

"You said yes and no, what did you mean?"

Ranma seemed to think for a moment as if deciding how to best describe it.

"Well, I can remember s-some things, but only pieces." She looked up at Ryoga as he nodded in understanding.

Ranma lowered her voice a bit. "I remembered that you turn into a l-little pig, and how I seemed to tease you about it. But n-not when we were in middle school, or when you showed up in N-nerima."

It did make sense in a way. Amnesia wasn't the same as in the movies, where people suddenly just remember everything all at once. She then began to explain how her mother started commenting on certain quirks she would suddenly develop, like less than ideal speech patterns that her mother had put an end to just as quickly as they appeared. She also began carrying herself differently, more confidently, bordering on cocky. At this Ryoga chuckled, getting a smack to the arm before she continued.

"It was difficult at first, I guess essentially I was two people at once. Or one person with pieces of someone else sprinkled in." Ranma shrugged, smiling a bit. "It's a lot easier now though, th-the headaches aren't as bad. But I don't get as many of those little fragments of wh-who I was..am..whatever.

She suddenly stopped, Ryoga almost running into her.

"What are you doing? I thought we were going to your house?"

"Yep." She said grabbing his arm and leading/dragging him towards the home in front of them. "We're here."

Now he was confused, he knew he would have trouble finding his way out of a room with one door. It sucks but he's used to it, but he knew the house she was leading him up to wasn't the same one from before.

"You moved?" He asked as she lead him up a slight incline of stairs.

Ranma raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You didn't notice that nothing looked familiar here?" She gestured around them.

He actually hadn't, Ryoga had been so focused on getting cleaned up and restocking his supplies he really hadn't been paying much attention. But she was right, none of this looked familiar. Were they even in Nerima? Why would the Saotomes leave? What about the Tendos?

"We're in Toshima Ward, a little ways off from Nerima." At his questioning look she shrugged, then added. "Kids gotta go where their parents go."

Opening the door and pulling him inside. "Mom! I'm home! And I b-brought home a stray!"

The two were partway into the home when Genma appeared and threw Ranma bodily through the open side doors and into the courtyard.

"You're getting slow Boy!" He bellowed as Ranma rebounded off the surrounding wall and landed gracefully onto her feet, sending an annoyed look to her father.

"Dammit Pops! We h-have a guest!" Then gesturing to her clothes. "And I'm in my u-uniform, I have to pay for these you know!"

Ryoga watched the scene with amusement, he remembered how often Genma surprise attacked Ranma in the past. Glad that some things had stayed the same with all the changes that had happened while he was away. He still hadn't managed to make his way back to the Tendo's. He was beginning to worry that they had played a major part in what happened to her. Ranma moving back to her family home after her injury made sense, but to an entirely different ward? He'd ask her later.

"Always be ready for an attack!, an enemy won't always announce themselves before striking." The man lectured. "Never.."

"Yeah yeah, n-never let your guard down." She waved him off, obviously having heard it often.

Genma then tried to pounce again as his son turned daughter made her way back inside, only to have a foot lodged into his gut.

"That's more like it Boy." The man wheezed, trying not to lose his lunch.

With a roll of her eyes she began leading Ryoga towards the kitchen, she knew by now her mother would be beginning to prepare dinner.

"He still calls you boy?" Ryoga chuckled. Getting an amused look from the redhead.

"Yeah, but it's more of a nickname now. Mom says it makes him feel better, but I like it cause i-it's familiar." she smiled. "In everything I've r-  
remembered about Pop he's called me that."

She stopped him just before they reached the door to the kitchen and grinned playfully, then stuck her head in.

"Hey Mom!"

Nodoka turned from the vegetables she had been cutting and gave her a warm smile.

"Hello dear, What's this about a stray?"

Ranma grabbed his arm and dragged him into view. "Ta Daaaaaa!" She sang holding her arms out grandly.

The Lost Boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Hello, Saotome-san." He said, then gave Ranma a curious look. He didn't remember her being so...animated.

"Oh! Hello Ryoga-kun, well this is a pleasant surprise. How are you dear?"

"Told. You. So." He tried unsuccessfully to bat Ranma's hand away as she poked his shoulder emphasizing each word.

Her mother of course invited/demanded the bandanna clad martial artist to stay for dinner, her daughter immediately accepted on his behalf. Scoffing at the look he gave her, she told him he would be having a real dinner in an actual home whether he liked it or not.

"Let me get changed a-and I'll show you around the neighborhood P-chan, Mom make sure he doesn't wander off please." With that she hurried from the room to change, leaving an amused mother and slightly bewildered friend/rival.

The pair walked at a leisurely pace, the shorter of the two pointing out various places she liked to frequent when her father wasn't randomly attacking her or at work or school. Ryoga noted they were all food stands or restaurants and shook his head, no matter how different she was , the redhead beside him was definitely Ranma Saotome.

"You know, you're a lot calmer th-than you used to be. I almost wish you'd sh-shout that I Prepare to Diiie!"

Ignoring the punch to the shoulder, he sighed and answered.

"Well, after I attacked a 'Poor defenseless Girl'." He said, earning a laugh from her. "And the talk with your mother where she picked apart every excuse I had for blaming you for everything..I had a lot to think about when I left, And a lot of time apparently." He stopped looking annoyed. "I've never been lost for that long, it had been getting worse. A few more weeks here and there, you know, that's the reason I was at that doctor's office that day."

She had been wondering about that, her mother as well. Pops had waved it off saying that the boy would randomly appear at the most random of times fairly often. But hearing he had purposely sought a neurologist made more sense.

"Not to sound cruel, but how did you find it? Or make it to your appointment for that matter?"

At this he grinned self deprecatingly."I stumbled across it by accident, and remembered from what little of school I had been able to attend that neurology was about the brain. As for the appointment, I camped outside the building."

The two lapsed into silence as they continued. Neither knowing what else to say. Ranma was about to suggest they head back when the silence was interrupted by a call from behind them. Ryoga turned curiously as his companion groaned in annoyance.

"Well if it isn't R-R-R-R-Ranma-chan." A girl their age stammered in an exaggerated way, obviously making fun of the redheads stutter. She was flanked by two other girls, the taller of the two showing an indecent amount of cleavage while the other seemed to be competing for world's shortest skirt. The girl who had spoken was quite busty, but seemed to be dressed far more conservatively compared to the other girls.

Anything else the the antagonist had been about to say was cut off by Ryoga doubling over as he burst into laughter.

"You have bullies?!.." He laughed as he wiped tears from his eyes. "That's, That's hilarious!..."

The trio stared incredulously as the boy continued to guffaw, now struggling to breathe as he tried in vain to curb his laughter.

"I bet, I bet they're the 'Popular Girls' too!" He continued.

Shaking her head with a smile, Ranma swatted his arm good naturedly.

"What c-can we do for you for you Maiko-chan?"

Still stunned by the now chuckling boy's reaction, she blinked when realizing she had been addressed. Trying to adopt her previous haughty look the aforementioned Maiko harrumphed and turned her nose up.

"It's, It's none of your business!" She then brushed past them making sure to bump her shoulder into Ranma's as she passed, her bookends hurrying after her. Eliciting another round of laughter from Ryoga.

Rolling her eyes Ranma began to push him back towards her house. "Come on P-chan, if we're late Pops will eat all the f-food."

Not being able to turn down Nodoka Saotome's hospitality, Literally, Ryoga had agreed to stay the night. He was shown to the guest room, and not soon after he had settled onto the too soft mattress a light tapping sounded from the door.

Shifting to a sitting position he answered. "Uh, yes?"

Ranma poked her head in, looking somewhat nervous.

"Hey.." She said and trailed off looking unsure of herself.

Taking a deep breath she stepped fully into the room and shut the door. She stood awkwardly as Ryoga looked at her curiously.

"Mom t-told me to wait to tell you what h-happened to cause.." She gestured to her head. "..you know."

She continued at his nod.

"But I c-can't, I wanted to tell you before dinner but there wasn't enough time. And m-mom wouldn't have let me bring it up during."

She sat against the wall directly in front of him. "I'd rather you h-hear it from me than s-someone who would twist it into s-something terrible, well, I m-mean it was terrible, but it w-w-wasn't on purpose."

Ranma took a deep breath to settle herself, it wouldn't do to tell him what happened if he couldn't understand half of what she was saying, her stutter always became worse when she was upset or emotional.

"I really don't r-remember much of it myself." She began sheepishly. "But from a t-trusted first hand account, I was able to piece it together."

"Who told you what happened?" Ryoga asked quietly.

"Kasumi-nee, she was w-with me in the hospital almost as much as mom was. I know I c-can trust her, especially after I started to get the headaches."

She sniffed and wiped her eyes irritably. "Damn hormones."

Ryoga waited patiently and didn't comment. Ranma was grateful.

"Kasumi-nee said it had b-been a normal morning, as normal as i-it could be for us anyway. Akane and I were fighting, m-most likely over something I had said, I wasn't very tactful back then." She smiled ruefully.

"Nee-san said when we left for school is w-when it started. We didn't even get far from the f-front gate before Shampoo appeared. From there it went downhill, o-of course Akane got mad and tried to brain m-me, then Mousse showed up, followed by Ukyo." Ranma sighed.

"It was the standard brawl, m-minus you and Kuno. I had fallen into the koi pond shoving Akane out of the w-way of one of Shampoo's bonbori and Happosai decided to show up at that p-point and grope me. It gives me the creeps just talking about it." Ranma crossed her arms over her chest unconsciously.

"Then he started throwing those d-damn fire-bursts around. He almost got Ukyo with one as she faced off with Akane, but sh-she knocked it away, Unfortunately right at Shampoo. Kasumi-nee said it was brave of me to protect h-her, but I-I think it was stupid, she's an Amazon that's b-been trained in martial arts since she could w-walk. She would have gotten to safety without my help, b-but back then I was such a chauvinist that I didn't hesitate to s-  
save a 'damsel in distress'."

Ranma looked out the window at the now dark sky, frowning.

"The blast threw me right i-in the middle of Akane and Ukyo. I took a giant spatula and a mallet to the f-front and back of the head simultaneously."

She turned back to Ryoga.

"I know it's pretty a-anticlimactic, but life usually is, even for p-people like us."

The two sat for a while just spending the moment together. It was quiet, not unnaturally so, just still. It was peaceful to have the sounds of the ward silenced by the night.

"What happened to.." Ryoga began quietly but stopped short. The redhead had fallen asleep, head slumped to the side against the wall. Talking about what happened must have been more emotionally draining than he thought.

"Goodnight Ranma." He said to the stillness.

Ranma burrowed deeper into the warmth of her covers. She didn't care if Pops lectured her for missing their morning spar, she was tired, and she could feel the beginnings of a headache. All the more reason to fight against the waking world. Her hopes of slipping back into blissful unconsciousness were shattered by a yell and crash that seemed to vibrate the walls and floor, along with her bed.

Sitting up with a frustrated groan she massaged her temples, yep, definitely a headache. A second crash sounded as she stood to see what the hell woke her up. She was always irritable when she got the headaches. Ranma stepped towards her door to find it..not her door? Looking around found it not her room either, then she remembered her talk with Ryoga. She must have fallen asleep..but why was she in the bed? Crap, he had put her in his bed and slept on the floor like in one of those trashy romance novels her mom read, his sleep roll layed out was evidence enough.

"Damn chivalrous b-bastard." It annoyed her, but she knew she would have done the same. Didn't mean she had to like it though.

Downstairs she found her mother seated just inside the courtyard doors, watching as Pops faced off against Ryoga. Well that explains the small tremors. Pops looked worse for the wear, but was holding his own.

"You usually don't watch our morning spars." She sat next to her mother. Pops had just met Ryoga in the air and they traded blows before leaping apart.

"Goodmorning daughter." Ranma inwardly groaned, she only called her that when being extremely serious or in the mood for playful teasing. It was hard to tell which it was, sometimes it was both!

"Ryoga-kun mentioned how tired you were, and even stopped your father's mutterings by offering to spar in your stead." Nodoka had a small quirk to her lips as she spoke. So, teasing it was. Ranma looked unbothered, but inwardly was annoyed even further.

"So, did you sleep well dear?" And there it was.

"Yes. Mother." Ranma ground out, watching as her father and Ryoga bowed to one another. Genma had clapped him on the back and was talking to him about something they couldn't hear, he then barked out a laugh and made his way towards them still smiling.

"That boy sure knows his stuff." He chuckled. "Gonna go get cleaned up, he tossed me around pretty good."

Ryoga still stood where her father left him. His back was turned and seemed to be looking at the sky, he breathed deeply and stood completely still for a moment. He either didn't care they were watching, or just hadn't noticed. It was probably the latter. It was strange seeing him so..calm. The words Ryoga and calm just didn't go in the same sentence, until now she supposed. He had been since he arrived. It was a stark contrast to the boy with the hair trigger temper she part-way remembered. Her inward musings ground to a halt when he began a kata. It wasn't that it was impressive, or even that advanced. It was the fluidity of it, it seemed unnatural to see him moving in such slow deliberate motions. The redhead turned to say as much to her mother but she was gone. She hadn't even noticed her leaving.

Ranma looked back to see that he had finished, and was standing in that same position looking up at the sky. He seemed to nod to himself and turned to go back inside, but stopped when he saw her. She scrambled for her earlier annoyance and gave him a half convincing glare before leaving the room.

He watched her leave, he knew she would be upset. But he couldn't just leave her half slumped on the floor in such an uncomfortable position. Ryoga hoped she would let him explain, it wasn't because she's a girl, but because she was a...friend. His only friend really. Even when he attacked Ranma every chance he got, the boy was still friendly afterwards, even if it had severe overtones of smugness along with his snide remarks. Especially if he had won. And although he had lorded the secret of his curse over him every chance he got, he never told anyone. Ryoga was pretty sure he still wouldn't have even if he hadn't done whatever he had demanded as payment.

Breakfast was unbearably quiet, Ranma's mother excused herself shortly after and busied herself in the kitchen, leaving the two alone at the table. He knew it was on purpose, he was positive that she knew about what happened.

Surprisingly it was Ranma who broke the silence. "You know this whole q-quiet and introspective thing y-you've got going on is weird right?" She had said it without looking up from her plate, and continued eating.

"So is hearing you use words like 'introspective'. "

She didn't look up, but he didn't miss the small smirk that crossed her lips before she could stop it. Ranma finally met his eyes from across the table.

"Making quips now? That's a-another thing that's different about you, and what the hell was that earlier?, and I don't mean y-your chivalrous deed of the day."

Yeah, definitely upset. But the first part confused him. "What was what earlier? I was just sparring with your dad."

"No, not that. The thing a-after that. You're whole z-zen performance." She gestured at him with her chopsticks.

"That? It's just something I picked up at a demonstration at some temple I wandered into. It seemed..I don't know, peaceful. It reminded me of everything I wasn't, so I started doing it after my morning workouts. It..calms me."

That was not the kind of answer Ranma had been expecting, although what else could he have said? That he thought it looked cool? True martial artists didn't do things without a reason. His explanation all but derailed her earlier annoyance at The Lost Boy, but not completely.

She stood and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Go get dressed, I n-need to get Kasumi-nee something for her birthday in a c-couple weeks. And because of your little stunt earlier you'll be buying l-lunch, and whatever the hell else I feel like snacking o-  
on."

"But.." Ryoga began but she had already left the room.

Nodoka watched the dark haired teen sigh before he retreated to the guest room. She had watched the exchange from the kitchen, and couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself. Leave it to Ranma to punish him for treating her like a girl by making him spend the day shopping while buying her lunch, and not see the irony.

Ranma's mother took him aside when he returned and handed him a roll of bills.

"What? Saotome-san, I'm sorry I can't.." He tried to refuse but was interrupted.

"You can and will young man." Her tone brooked no argument. "Ranma has isolated herself in this house ever since we moved here, the closest people she has to friends are Kasumi-chan when she visits and the regular customers at her work."

Her voice wavered as she continued. "Please Ryoga-  
kun. Take this and give her a day of enjoyment. Please."

Ranma had seemed to cheer up as they made their way to...wherever they were going. He wanted to say something but was unsure of what her reaction would be, she was still pretty miffed from earlier. He still didn't get the big deal, it was the right thing to do. And he couldn't have taken Ranma to her own bedroom, they could have ended up anywhere. Even now she would grab his arm and pull him back on course if he got distracted.

Curiosity got the better of him and he blurted out his question.

"Why are you wearing that?"

Ranma kept walking but gave him a questioning look. "Wearing w-what?"

"Those clothes!" He said exasperatedly.

"So I'm not naked." She replied innocently.

"You know what I mean! You look like a girl."

"Gee, I wonder why." Was her sarcastic reply. She was smiling though, no matter how much Ryoga had changed it pleased her to know she could still frustrate him.

He was almost growling now. "You know what I mean Ranma. Stop messing around."

Ranma pouted. "You mean you d-don't like my outfit Ryoga-kun?"

At that Ryoga just gave her an angry look.

She began to laugh loudly, drawing attention from those passing by. "Sorry Ryoga, b-but I just couldn't help myself!" She gasped out. She had stopped to catch her breath. Still gaining some odd looks.

"You're hilarious, but do you mind answering the question?"

After taking a few more breaths she answered, mirth still evident in her voice.

"Lighten up Ryoga-kun, you should be h-happy I'm in a better mood, I might just pay for my own lunch. M-maybe."

She grinned playfully at his exasperated look.

"Fine, relax P-chan." She huffed. "Kasumi-nee made m-me this knit cap for when my hair was just starting to grow back, I don't care much now, but b-back then I was more than a little self conscious."

Ryoga accepted the explanation but wasn't satisfied.

"But why are you wearing it now? And what's with the skirt?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Because it covers most of my hair, it's like a damn beacon that shouts 'look at me!' As for the skirt, you do realize for the majority of each day I'm wearing one right? You saw my work clothes." He nodded. "School is the same, it's the dress code."

"You still didn't answer my question Ranma."

She laughed and hopped in front of him, beginning to walk backwards.

"Turns out they're comfortable." She grinned but then adopted a thoughtful look. "Then a-again, maybe since I've had to wear them s-so much I've succumbed to some sort of clothing Stockholm Syndrome..."

"Look, I'm glad you're in a better mood. But you got pissed at me for my 'chivalrous deed' but you're walking around wearing that. Willingly I might add." Ranma returned to his side so they could wait to cross the street.

She sighed and rubbed her temples a bit. "It's not that you d-did it P-chan, It's why y-you did it. I've accepted what's happened, p-probably a lot easier than I should. But I don't want you t-to treat me different just because of what's happened. Yes, I'm a girl. B-but I'm still Ranma Saotome, even if I never get all of it back, I'm still him, M-me."

"I know." He said firmly. "You can never be anyone else, not even brain damage can take that away from you apparently."

His statement earned a light chuckle from the both of them before he continued. "But I didn't do what I did because you're a girl, I did it because you're my friend. Because I know you would have done the same for me."

She didn't respond at first but then suddenly punched his arm, eliciting a startled yelp from Ryoga.

"Turn a-around P-chan." She sniffled. "Give m-me a minute to reign in my estrogen."

He went to comply but was interrupted as a man stepped in between them. "Is this guy bothering you miss?" He asked trying to console her while glaring threateningly at Ryoga.

The redhead pushed him away from her. "Get lost creep! We're h-having a moment!"

The man was startled, she had shoved him a good eight feet right onto his ass, he got up in as dignified a way as he could before scurrying/walking a way.

Regaining her composure she turned back to a smirking Ryoga.

"What?"

He shook his head, smirk still present. Ryoga began to walk in what he hoped was the direction they had been heading. "Who knew you could be such a violent tomboy." He called over his shoulder.

Ranma just stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

"You are so buying l-lunch you bastard!" She shouted and ran after him.


	2. Chapter 2

A short time later saw the two arriving at a good sized outlet mall. It seemed to go on forever, they had already been there a good while and there seemed to be more and more stores. Ranma seemed to be enjoying herself, pulling him along into various shops. They had talked as they meandered about, he told her about the various places he had been, she had been surprised when he mentioned the arctic.

"How the hell did you even g-get there? It's not..you couldn't have w-walked there!"

He just shrugged. He was used to ending up in odd places. Ryoga stopped being surprised long ago, it still bothered him that without someone's help he couldn't find his way, unless he lucked out and found it by chance.

She had suddenly stopped, and inhaled deeply.

"What is that? It smells d-delicious!" She exclaimed and began looking around in search of the source of said smell. "There!"

Ryoga was trying to control his mirth. She had looked like a prairie dog that had just popped out of the ground.

"Barbecue! Th-that's what we're getting for lunch."

It was an American style barbecue restaurant, which seemed quite popular. They were told the wait would be twenty minutes. The minute they sat to wait Ranma began to impatiently bounce in her seat.

"You should calm down Ranma-chan, it looks like you're about ready to burst."

She looked sideways at him in a half glare. "I'm starving and i-it smells sooo good. It's torture to h-have us sit here, to be so close yet so f-far. It's maddening! "

Ryoga just shook his head. Her increased vocabulary impressed him, another testament to how when Ranma's mother set her mind to something, it would happen, one way or another.

The redhead stood abruptly. "Stay here P-chan, I m-mean it. I have to use the restroom. I don't want to come b-back and have to buy my own food because y-you wandered off."

"Geez, give me a break. I can't get lost sitting down." He grouched.

All he got in return was a deadpan look, and he sighed. "Fine."

She hurried off to where he could see the signs for the bathrooms.

This had actually turned out to be..fun, but it was surreal though. To be walking around with someone instead of alone, the missing weight of his pack unnerved him more than a little. But he knew it was safe at the Saotome's. He really needed to work on his conversation skills though, it seemed Ranma was doing the majority of it. Sure he had told her of his travels, but they were lacking in substance. He basically had said: 'Me go to arctic, it cold' or 'Deserts are hot'. He just wasn't good at story telling he guessed.

"Ryoga?"

At his name he looked up, but he didn't see anyone he knew, and Ranma hadn't gotten back yet. It sounded again from his left. He turned to find Akane and Nabiki Tendo sitting not too far from the waiting area. Aw crap. He had no idea how Ranma was going to react to this. She had said that there were no hard feelings, and that she didn't blame anyone, but feelings were anything but rational.

Akane had gotten up and excitedly made her way over to him, leaving her sister to watch from a distance. Which to anybody who knew Nabiki, was exactly how she preferred it.

"Oh my god I haven't seen you in forever!" Akane gushed and gave him a quick hug. He stiffened, not used to such physical contact. Not to mention his previous crush on her, although the more he had thought about how he felt about her when he was away, he realized it wasn't that he liked her. Yes she was nice to him, and was attractive. But it was more like he wanted to take her away from Ranma, to cause him pain, like the pain he had endured and blamed him for.

He looked quickly to where the bathrooms were. "Uh, hi Akane. What a surprise." He laughed nervously.

Akane laughed as well, oblivious to his nervousness. "I can't believe we would run into you here of all places! But you always did show up at the most unexpected times. Are you waiting for a table? You can join ours."

That's when he saw Ranma returning over Akane's shoulder. She wasn't paying much attention, engrossed in a menu she had snagged from a passing waitress. He looked over to where Nabiki still sat observing the interaction and saw her eyes widen. Crap.

"Um.." Ryoga began but Ranma decided to voice her presence.

"Ryoga-kuuun." She drawled still not looking up. He would have found the added suffix humorous had he not been in his current position.

"There's so m-many things to choose from we might have to order one o-of those sampler thingies to try them out first."

Then she looked up, and came face to face with a wide-eyed Akane.

"Ranma? What are you..? You're here with Ryoga?..I mean..how did you..?" She looked confused and more than a little surprised.

The redhead just stood there. Ryoga couldn't even tell if she was breathing.

"Hibiki, table for two!" Came the call from the hostess. He suddenly felt like eating here wouldn't be a good idea.

"You're dating?" Akane asked him incredulously. "How did you even meet her? Do you know?" Her eyes then narrowed at him when he didn't answer. "I can't believe you would take advantage of a situation like this! If you know she can't remember..!"

Ranma seemed to thaw a little and came to his defense. "N-no, he's just helping me f-find a gift for Kasumi-nee." It was only a little over a whisper. "We, just g-got hungry."

Akane's ire receded but she still looked at Ryoga angrily.

"Hibiki, table for two! Last call!"

They ignored it. The air between them felt thick, the tension of the situation was almost suffocating.

"How do you know Ryoga?" Akane demanded, still looking at him.

He swallowed thickly, wishing he had something to drink, or to be splashed so he could scamper off as a pig and hide. Luck wasn't on his side though, as the moment continued. Ranma didn't seem forthcoming with an answer, so Ryoga reluctantly spoke up.

"I met Ranma's mother in a store I was lost in.." His eyes cut to the redheads. "She recognized me and I was invited to dinnner. Saotome-san explained what happened."

The youngest Tendo seemed to deflate a bit. She still looked at him suspiciously, but at least there was no heat behind it. She turned to Ranma and spoke softly. "It's nice to see you again Ranma, how are you?" She said it almost as if she were talking to a child, which Ryoga didn't like. At All.

She continued in that condescending tone until Ryoga couldn't stand it anymore. "We have to go." He announced firmly.

Both girls looked at him, but with very different expressions. He put his hand gently on Ranma's back and began to lead her to the door, ignoring whatever Akane had been saying. The reprieve was not to last however as she caught up with them outside the restaurant.

"Where are you going? You can't just walk off like that."

The angered Hibiki turned to the dark haired girl. "We can when you're being such a jackass."

Both Akane and Ranma looked to the Lost Boy with astonishment. He continued and took a step forward.

"Ranma lost her memory, she's not stupid!"

"But.."

He took a breath to center himself. "As I said, we have to go. Give Tendo-san and Kasumi-san my regards." He said cutting her off, and began leading a still silent Ranma in the opposite direction. A small smile playing at her lips.

Ryoga managed to talk his subdued companion into continuing their search for Kasumi's gift, after they stopped for their postponed lunch at a nearby ramen stand of course. He had tried to cheer her up but had only managed a few weak smiles from the redhead. She appreciated what he was trying to do, she said as much, but their altercation with the youngest Tendo hadn't left her yet.

He had suggested the bookstore to look in next, saying he remembered at least one time he had seen Kasumi reading at the Tendo's.

At his last statement Ranma felt a bit dizzy and her head hurt slightly. But she suddenly brightened, startling Ryoga at the abrupt change. She turned to him excitedly.

"Medical books!" She exclaimed. "Kasumi-nee used to read m-medical books she borrowed from...Mr. Soy? No, that c-can't be right. Whatever, the point is I remembered!"

She grabbed his hand and pulled him hurriedly towards the store he pointed out.

"Great idea Ryoga-kun!"

Taking advantage of her improved mood as they made their way back to Ranma's house, Ryoga asked her something he had been wondering about since the day before.

"What was up with those girls trying to bully you?"

The redhead just scoffed and seemed to wave the question away, but answered.

"She's been at it since my f-first day of classes, something about 'trying to s-steal her boyfriend', I had no clue then, and I'm no closer n-now."

Ryoga frowned, that just seemed odd. "Anything you might have done that was unintentional?"

"Believe me, I-I've tried to come up with a re-reasonable excuse. She's either a class A moron, or I'm just irrevocably unobservant."

Ryoga merely raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

He smirked. " 'Irrevocably unobservant' huh?"

"Yeah, so what?" She tried to look nonchalant.

The dark haired teen let out a short laugh. "Now you're just doing it on purpose!" He said adopting an exaggerated feminine pose. "I'm just irrevocably unobservant." He mocked, then pantomimed throwing his hair over his shoulder.

Ranma gaped at him. "I do not sound like that! A-and I didn't do a hair flip!"

He looked to have a snide response but whatever it was Ranma didn't understand it because she didn't speak pig. She began to laugh. "Where did that water even come from?" She asked looking around. Finally looking up, she laughed harder. "I guess every ward has some weird old lady washing the sidewalk randomly throughout the day!"

A black piglet fought his way out of the pile of clothes where Ryoga had been. It didn't look angry as she expected, just resigned. "Aww, come on P-chan, let's go home and g-get you some hot water." She placed his clothing into her bag with Kasumi's wrapped gift and gathered him into her arms. "I forgot how cute y-you were in your cursed f-form P-chan." she said scratching him under his chin. "Maybe I'll let you stay like this for a w-while." She joked.

The piglet began shaking it's head frantically, which made Ranma laugh. "Don't worry widdle P-chan, I'll t-take care of you." She cooed and pecked him on the nose. Said piglet fainted making the redhead laugh in earnest, causing those passing to give her strange looks and a larger berth.

"We're hooooome." Ranma called as she removed her shoes by the door, unconscious piglet still cradled in her arms. Upon walking into the sitting room she immediately hid the shopping bag behind her back. "Kasumi-nee! What are you d-doing here?"

The eldest Tendo daughter was sitting next to Ranma's mother and they had obviously been talking before she entered.

"Hello imouto, what have you got there?" Kasumi smiled.

Ranma began edging sideways out of the room, making sure she was facing Kasumi and her mother the whole time.

"Nothing, j-just a thing. Not a thing for you , just..a thing. Y-you know? I'll be right back!" She bolted from the room, leaving the two women to exchange amused looks.

"I see Ryoga-kun is visiting." Said the younger woman.

Nodoka nodded and set down her tea. "Yes, he is quite the young man. He almost bested my husband in a spar this morning. Although lazy, you know Genma is no slouch when it comes to martial arts. The boy was very proficient in how he handled him."

"You seem fond of him. Any reason in particular Auntie?" The question was asked innocently, but they both knew better.

Nodoka gestured where her daughter had just been. "I haven't seen Ranma so lively in months. Then that boy shows up out of the blue and she's making snide remarks, smiling, laughing." She sighed. "She closes herself off from others her age because she can't relate to them. But here comes this young man, and she finally has a friend, someone who has similar life experiences. Even some they've shared!" Her voice wavered slightly. "I'm afraid that when he leaves, so will all that he brings out in her."

Ryoga was reluctantly given hot water by the overly affectionate redhead. With a grin she had patted his head, evading The Lost Boy's attempts to swat her hand away and stuck her tongue out. Ryoga then went after her, with a shriek of laughter she bolted out into the courtyard, Ryoga at her heels.

Nodoka watched the exchange fondly. She hadn't heard her laugh in months, she would miss it. It wasn't like she could make Ryoga stay indefinitely. She was probably the only mother to wish a boy would keep spending time with their daughter.

The chase quickly gave way to a friendly spar, which was a first for Ryoga. Friendly wouldn't be anywhere near the description of their 'spars' in the past. He couldn't help but grin. The way she moved and fought was pure Ranma Saotome, cocky smirk and all. If anyone was skeptical that she had regained some of her memories, all they would have to do is watch her fight.

"You do know that this is unbelievably s-surreal right?"

The two martial artists were sitting on the roof of the Saotome household, just looking out at the surrounding homes. Taking in the the neighborhood as it wound down for the day.

Ryoga didn't say anything. Just continued to observe the buildings around them.

"Before all this, w-we would have been at each other's throats." She turned to him. "And now you're all m-mature and crap, and I'm all g-girly and awesome." The boy next to her snorted. "I can't help b-but wonder that if my mother had scared the shit o-out of you earlier, we could have been f-friends this whole time."

"Yeah." He sighed. "I can honestly say I'm glad your mom tried to cut my head off."

She punched his arm. "Well you did d-deserve it. Attacking s-such a cute and defenseless girl!"

"My, aren't we conceited." He snarked. "I didn't think your head could get any bigger."

"Yeah, yeah. S-say what you want, but you didn't disagree."

Ryoga smiled and nodded in agreement. Stunning the redhead.

"You're right, you were pretty defenseless." He said beginning to snigger.

The redhead tried to look affronted but joined him as he lost it and began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Goodbye Kasumi-nee, I hope the n-next time you visit it won't be because Ryoga insulted Akane on m-my behalf." She then hugged the older girl as they shared a quiet laugh.

Kasumi said goodbye to Ranma's mother in a similar manner, save for the look of agreement passing between them.

"I need to speak with Ryoga-kun for a moment, would you walk me to the taxi?" She addressed the latter to the now confused teen.

"Uh, yeah. Of course Kasumi-san."

Ranma watched curiously as her friend accompanied Kasumi to the waiting taxi. Feeling a hand on her arm she turned.

"Come inside dear, they'll only be a moment."

"But what if he g-get's lost?" Ranma argued. "If he gets lost out there he won't have his p-pack."

"Kasumi-chan has promised to lead him back when they are finished. Don't worry."

"But.." Ranma was lead obstinately back into their home, throwing worried glances over her shoulder.

He had no idea what Kasumi could possibly have to talk to him about. For some reason he was a bit nervous, never really spending any time alone with the eldest Tendo daughter.

Kasumi stopped haflway to the vehicle waiting for her, and looked at him seriously. Apparently this was important.

"Ryoga-kun, I'd like to thank you again for standing up for Ranma-chan. She has so few for support, it means a lot to Auntie and myself."

She seemed to steel herself. As if getting ready to go to battle. And simply handed him an envelope. Ryoga was confused to say the least.

"You are Ranma-chan's closest friend." She cut him off as he looked to disagree. "She trusts you, the way she opens up when you're around is amazing. Believe it or not Ranma is usually very reserved, yes she does get playful at times, but around you she emerges fully from her shell. I am so happy you ran into them that day." At this her eyes began to glisten with tears, She didn't bother wiping them. "I need you to read this, read it and know that I am ashamed of what I've done. But I did it with the best of intentions."

Kasumi began to lead him back towards the house as she continued.

"If you share what you learn from this letter with Ranma, please tell her that I'm sorry. I should be brave enough to tell her myself, but I know that I couldn't bear her look of betrayal."

They had reached the door of the Saotome's home. After giving him a quick hug she turned and made her way back to the still waiting taxi. It sped away as Ryoga stared at the envelope in his hand. What could Kasumi be so ashamed of that she couldn't even speak it aloud? If it was so terrible did he even want to know?

* * *

It's eyes looked in turn to each of it's prey. They smelled of fear, this pleased it.

It took a step forward, and the prey stiffened, the one on the far right had taken a step backward. A horrid smile split it's lips, it would enjoy this, the feeling as their bodies broke beneath it's hands. It could almost hear the screams that would accompany the snapping crunch of bone. It could see it in it's minds eye, their broken bodies laying at it's feet, not yet dead, but closer to it than alive. It would enjoy their last gasps of air, the sight of them slipping from life's embrace would be glorious.

It took another step forward.

* * *

Ryoga was gone the next morning, both his pack and umbrella missing along with their owner. He had left a note thanking them for their hospitality, but that he couldn't impose on them any longer, and apologized for staying as long as he had, along with leaving the money the matriarch had given him.

It upset both mother and daughter, but for different reasons. Ranma knew he would disappear eventually, it's just how it was. But hadn't expected him to leave on purpose, at least not without a goodbye. She hoped he would turn up again soon, Ranma had enjoyed having someone she could relate to, someone to talk to about everything and nothing. A friend.

In the coming weeks Nodoka watched helpless as her daughter once again became withdrawn and spoke less, although it pleased her that she joked more often than before, it was still heartbreaking to watch.

* * *

It was enjoying itself, it had broken one of them. Their cries of pain had brought it great satisfaction, and a burning need to hear more. It's body yearned to inflict harm, to tear, to maim. It licked the blood from it's palm with great relish, then began to advance towards it's next victims.

* * *

Ryoga didn't know how long he had been walking. He didn't know where he was and at the moment didn't care, he hadn't even bothered with his maps. He hadn't been able to sleep that night at the Saotome's, he hadn't even planned to stay for another night. But Ranma's mother had all but shoved him into the guest room. Resigned to his fate he had prepared for bed.

There was no telling how long he had lain there. Kasumi's words would not leave him. He doubted they ever would until he read what was in the envelope. Reading it would sate his wary curiosity, but then again, some things you were better off not knowing.

* * *

It stood to it's feet. It had been struck, two more had joined it's soon to be victims. It looked forward to the additional pain it would inflict, the screams. It licked it's lips in anticipation, more pain, more fear. It could taste it.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since she had given Ryoga-kun the letter. It could be months before she saw the young man again, Auntie had informed her of his departure that night. Kasumi was filled with both anticipation and fear at what she had done in giving the boy the letter. Of course there was relief, they were forbidden from even speaking of it, let alone telling anyone outside 'the family'. It was freeing being able to tell someone else, it was one less person she had to lie to. And if he chose to share what he learned with Ranma...she both feared and hoped he would.

* * *

The prey had become quite a challenge when working together. But it had adapted, it had gotten it's screams, seen their fear. It had taken damage, but it would not stop. It would hear their screams, it would see their last gasps of air, it would see the light fade from their eyes. No matter what, it did not lose.

* * *

A small piglet huddled in the hollow of a tree, Ryoga had been unable to find shelter before the rain fell. He had no idea how long he had dragged his pack until he had found this tree. Sudden showers were par for the course when traversing the jungle unfortunately. He was pretty sure he had only been gone a couple of weeks, he had taken to counting each sunrise. Ryoga was determined not to lose track of time again, but he knew the days would start to blur together eventually.

He had originally set out for the Tendo's, he could have easily asked Ranma or her mother to lead him there, but he didn't want to explain his reason for going. He was positive Ranma's mother knew what was in the letter. The look she shared with the eldest Tendo sister was evidence of that. But he wondered why Mrs. Saotome hadn't just told him, or wrote, as Kasumi had done. He had added that to his mental list of questions to ask if..when he got there.

* * *

The school day for the petite redhead was as monotonous as any of the others. Go to class, sit down, be subjected to the mindless gossip and exaggerated tales of the previous weekend. The teacher droned on, left, the next one came, blah blah blah. Ranma usually busied herself by reading ahead in her textbooks. It distracted her from the tediousness of her surroundings while still allowing her to pass the subsequent testing. She almost missed some of the crazy antics she could remember from Nerima, she couldn't remember being bored there. Then again, Kasumi-nee had said she had been too busy defending herself or Akane from various attacks from challengers, or the fights over who got to marry her. It sounded interesting, and could remember it being exciting, but she highly doubted the grass would be any greener.

Finally, lunch. The only 'class' of the day she enjoyed. Just her and the food her mother had prepared. Bento in hand, Ranma made her way to the preferred out of the way bench on school grounds.

She sighed, and looked wistfully at her untouched salmon skewers. Maiko was making her way to the redhead with her stooges.

"Hi there R-r-r-r-r-ranma-chan." The bimbo taunted. Honestly, we get it, I have a speech impediment.

"Yes, Maiko. What can I d-do for you." She replied apathetically.

The haughty girl smirked, while thing one and two snickered from behind.

"I haven't seen that boy toy you were hanging out with for a while. What's the matter? Did he finally figure out he could do much better?"

"If you're going t-to insult me, get to the point. I'm hungry." Was her indifferent retort. But Ranma was inwardly seething. She didn't care what was said about her, but she didn't like that Ryoga was being dragged into this.

"Insult you?" Was the innocent reply. "I was only concerned how you were doing after your boyfriend finally realized how much of a bore you were." She ended with a sneer.

Normally what the blonde idiot said didn't bother her, but that was close to her own worries on why Ryoga had left that night. Maybe he realized how much he still hated her, or the pity he felt for her situation finally dried up. It bothered her how he hadn't just gotten lost, he had left.

The redhead frowned with narrowed eyes. Smelling blood in the water the tart continued.

"Don't worry R-r-ranma-chan, he probably just felt sorry for you. But don't worry, a pity date is better than none at all."

Ranma was suddenly before her, their noses almost touching. No one had seen the girl move, she was just there.

Cold blue eyes drilled into the blonde's startled brown.

"If you ever bring him into whatever juvenile r-rivalry you think this is again, or even mention him at all. You'll be lucky to be able to say a-anything ever again." It was said barely above a whisper, but it's message was loud and clear.

Just as she had appeared in front of the now frightened teen, she was now once again seated on the bench. Placing her bento back onto her lap she made a shooing motion and began to eat. The three walked mechanically away, none looking back. They would no doubt be up to their usual ways before long. She knew old habits died hard, but she also knew they would remember this moment every time they opened their mouths.

Later in the evening as she lay atop her bed staring at the ceiling, Ranma thought back to the 'confrontation' she had with Maiko and felt guilty about how she handled the situation. She was disappointed to have let her emotions control her. Threatening a noncombatant was disgraceful, Pops would give her an earful if he found out about it. She didn't even want to think about what her mother would do. But what she had said had hit so close to home, Maiko had voiced what she herself had been thinking. She overreacted, she would have to apologize...eventually.

* * *

There was no greater satisfaction than reaching a goal. No matter if it took you two days or two weeks, nothing could take away your accomplishment. Ryoga hung his head, he just wished his accomplishment wasn't what children could accomplish just by going to their friends house.

But this was great, he had found his way to the Tendo's. Although it might just be a half victory, Nabiki had seen him wandering around and lead him here, for a price. Whatever, the point was he had made it.

"Nice doing business with you." Nabiki said as they parted ways just inside the door. She was already halfway up the stairs before he could ask her if Kasumi was here.

The middle Tendo must have told her because she appeared at the top of the stairs.

"You read it." She said simply. With his nod she descended and began leading him to the family room.

"Ranma deserves to know."

It was all he said. It was all he came to say. There was nothing to discuss, it was all in the letter. He just needed her to know his decision. It was hard doing what was right when it conflicted with what was best, they knew that, and they had chosen what was best. He understood why, Ranma had already been through a terrible ordeal, like anyone else she had wanted to know how it happened. They only wanted to spare her further pain, she had been through so much already.

"I need you to take me to the Saotome's."

* * *

It roared as it was struck again and launched itself towards the nearest prey, it was tiring, it was damaged, it would get it's reward, the screams, it would hear them. It would savor the sweet aroma of fear as it..

Genma tackled his son midair, sending them both into a heap onto the cracked asphalt. He held with all his strength as Ranma thrashed and roared in primal fury. He wouldn't be able to subdue her for long, even now Genma's hold was waning. He adjusted his grip as his son's oldest friend, as beaten and bloodied as he, arrived. He was almost bodily thrown from Ranma's slight form as she continued to struggle against his hold.

"Hurry! Now! I can't..!" He shouted.

Ukyo looked down upon the wildly thrashing Ranma being forcibly restrained against the street. She was shouting unintelligibly, frothing at the mouth.

"I'm sorry Ranchan." Ukyo sobbed and slammed her warped, nearly unrecognizable battle spatula onto the skull of her oldest friend. The redhead roared in fury and continued her struggle with renewed vigor, the spatula came down again. Spitting with rage she had managed to almost free herself of her father, and it came again, and again. With a cry of anguish the blows continued, the last thing Ukyo remembered were voices screaming for her to stop.

* * *

"So you're just going to leave?"

It was well into the night, the redhead had just exited from her bedroom window. The large pack she carried looked out of place on her slight frame. She didn't look where Ryoga had spoken from. He sat a few feet away, obviously having been waiting for her.

"What else should I d-do? Pretend it never h-happened like everyone else?" She spat turning to look at him.

He met her angry gaze evenly. "You've never given up before."

"Yeah, well maybe I don't r-remember." She sneered. "Like you've seemed to have forgotten what an angry d-depressed asshole you are."

Ryoga had stood and stepped towards her. Leaving only an arms length between them, and connected a right hook with her jaw, propelling the redhead from the roof onto the unforgiving ground below. She rolled to her feet, flinging her pack to the side.

"What the hell?!"

"If that's what you want." He lept towards her from above, slamming his fist where she had previously been standing, the earth giving way from the force of the blow. "Then prepare to die!"

Ranma then dodged a flurry of kicks, responding with a leg sweep that missed and a follow up kick to the head that didn't. Ryoga grabbed her ankle as he shrugged off the blow, he then landed another hit to her jaw by pulling her into his fist. She rolled with the blow and flipped to her feet.

Ryoga stood in a ready stance across from the redhead.

"Your dad put up a better fight than this, I thought you were supposed to be 'the best' "?

"What are you trying to prove you idiot?!" She yelled. "Why are you trying to stop me?!"

His answer was to once again go on the offensive. Ranma dodged his punches and redirected the ones she couldn't. "Because. You're. Just. Running. From. Your. Problems!" He growled emphasizing each word with his blows, his last one got though and sent her tumbling but righted herself.

"Leaving won't change what happened, nothing will change what happened. Yeah, it was terrible, but it wasn't your fault. You didn't do anything, you weren't in control."

"How do you know?! You w-weren't there! All you have is that stupid letter! F-for all we know I was in complete control of myself!" She cried. "I can't remember, and I d-don't want to. I've remembered pieces of my past, who I was. But w-what if that comes back too? What if it happens again?!"

Ranma then launched herself into a frenzied attack. Blows landing at full speed, every kick and punch met their target, pushing Ryoga back against the wall surrounding the courtyard. Her attacks began to slow, until she was merely pounding her fists against his chest, until she collapsed onto him completely. Her hands balled into his shirt as she began to sob, losing her last remaining bit of control she buried her head into the chest of the battered boy. Slowly, Ryoga raised his arms around her in a tentative embrace.

The morning after, Ranma awoke in her bed. "Not again." She groaned. As if it wasn't bad enough that she had broken down. Into his arms. Like some sort of hysterical girl...

"Dammit." She muttered. "I guess I w-was."

And although she was completely embarrassed, Ranma felt better, lighter. Stupid crying, stupid hormones, stupid Ryoga. She wished he never told her, she was content in her ignorance. Thinking her injury was due to unfortunate circumstances was one thing, knowing that it had been necessary just to stop her from hurting people was another. She needed to talk to Pops, she needed answers. Like where was Ukyo, was she okay? And apparently she had done irreparable damage to one of the amazons, why hadn't they sought recompense? She had been given the truth, but only the vague outline, not the details. Having been so overwhelmed with everything all she could think to do was flee, to run as far away from everything as possible. She had to thank Ryoga for beating some sense into her, literally. The urge to run was still present, but muffled by what he had said during their fight.

Her mind demanded answers, but it could wait fifteen or so minutes while she bathed and dressed.

Ranma found her father doing some light stretching in the courtyard. He stopped when he noticed her approach, his face donning a guilty look. Stopping just in front of him, his son turned daughter met his gaze, a stern expression on her face. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, anything to ease the tension, she hugged him fiercely. He returned it after a moment, this was a first for both of them. He hadn't hugged his child since she had been a toddler, and she had never been the affectionate type. "I'm sorry Pops." she mumbled into his shoulder.

"It's alright Boy." He said rubbing her back in what he hoped was a comforting way.

Nodoka watched the scene from inside as she dabbed tears from her eyes. Although ashamed, she was happy that this could bring them closer. While Genma still cared for his child, he had been keeping her at arms length. He had gotten better once Ranma began to regain some of her memory, and had began to treat her as he always had. But he failed to realize that while still Ranma, she was a different person. Essentially she was the frightened girl that woke up in the hospital, but had begun assimilating her previous memories. Ranma's description to Ryoga was apt. She was someone with pieces of another person sprinkled in.

The talk with her parents had gone..well?.. Her mother had spilled the beans before she could even finish asking her first question. Now she was on her way to the Tendo's, she needed to talk to Kasumi and Nabiki. And Akane..maybe. The things Pops said she had done had made her feel worse, knowing she had done terrible things was hard, knowing exactly what she had done and to who was terrifying. A lot of it she couldn't wrap her mind around, yes she knew she wasn't all there in the memory department, but she was certain that in her fights she was never actively trying to hurt her opponent. But what Pops described wasn't just her trying to defeat them, she was trying to destroy them. Ranma fought the misting of her eyes as her throat tightened. She couldn't imagine doing such a thing.

Pops had said she had pushed him to his limits and beyond, to the point of using his sealed techniques. And even then she had seemed unfazed, obviously injured but paying it no mind, her sole focus on trying to destroy them.

'Your eyes were..different.' He had said. 'You didn't have the slightest hint of recognition of me or anyone.'

So maybe it wasn't actually her. It was a comforting thought, but it was still a possibility.

Mousse had been the first to fall, having taken a blow for Shampoo. It shattered his glasses. Shards of it were ground into his eyes and face as she continued to maul him before being knocked away by the purple haired amazon. The way Pops had described the battle was terrifying, the way he said she had continued to fight despite the injuries they had inflicted. How she used Ukyo's battle spatula to beat the purple haired girl until it was unrecognizable as the tool it once was. The way Akane had ran. Leaving her father and Ukyo to fight the monster she had become.

Standing outside the Tendo compound Ranma wished Ryoga hadn't wandered off, she could have really used his company for this. She didn't know how long she had been standing there, she must have nervously adjusted her skirt and top a thousand times, maybe she should have worn pants, or one of her chinese outfits from before, it might have made Nabiki and Akane feel more comfortable around her. With a tug on her knitted cap and a deep breath she entered the compound and made her way up the front path.

Nabiki answered the door. She didn't say anything, only raised an eyebrow at her sudden appearance.

"Hello Nabiki-san." She bowed. "Is Kasumi-neesan a-available?" Her voice was meeker than she hoped.

The older girl nodded. "Yeah, she's in the kitchen. Come on in Red, and drop the -san. Big sis won't stand for her 'imouto' to be so formal." She said smirking.

Ranma nodded once and with a quiet "Thank you" entered the home. She hadn't visited Kasumi-nee here before, she had always come to her house. Being here felt..strange. Familiar but not. The middle Tendo had already disappeared upstairs, leaving Ranma to make her own way. She remembered where the kitchen was, but even if she hadn't, the delicious smell of Kasumi-nee's cooking would have led her there.

"Nabiki-chan who was at the..?" Kasumi trailed off as she realized who it was in the doorway.

The redhead gave a small wave and a nervous smile, Immediately the distance between them was closed as the older girl grabbed her into a tight embrace. She was crying, apologizing again and again.

Ranma returned the hug before gently pulling away. "It's okay Kasumi-nee, I u-understand." She said, wiping away a tear of her own.

Nabiki entered the kitchen to a curious sight, Ranma was bustling about preparing tea and what seemed like a light snack. Then she noticed her puffy-eyed older sister sitting at the table in the family room.

"Soooo, you guys doing some sort of role reversal?" The brunette asked Ranma as she leaned against the door frame.

The redhead didn't pause in her preparations. "No Nabiki-chan, but be a dear and b-bring this to our guest, I'm afraid she's not feeling very well." She responded in her best Kasumi-nee impression placing the tea service into the brunette's hands, earning a titter from the family room and Nabiki's eyebrows disappearing into her hairline.

"I figured you would be more upset about this Red." Nabiki said sipping the tea that Ranma had just served. Kasumi nodded in silent agreement, eyeing the redhead sadly.

"I was." Ranma agreed. "But I had s-some sense knocked into m-me." She smiled softly.

The redhead turned to Kasumi on her right. "Do they know a-about..?" She trailed off as the older girl gave a gentle shake of her head. This got the middle daughter's attention.

"Know about what?"

Kasumi gave her sister a guilty look. "We thought it best that we should wait.." She trailed off.

Nabiki looked irritated, if there was information she wasn't privy to she didn't play games. But before she could voice her annoyance Ranma finished for her older sister.

"To see if what I've remembered was only temporary..." The brunette's irritation melted to be replaced by surprise.

"So you?"

"Yep."

Nabiki leaned forward across the table. "Everything?" She asked.

"No, just some things. Not all of them are whole m-memories, more like.."

"I'm home!" Came the call of Akane, interrupting any further revelations. The two other occupants could swear they heard Nabiki growl in frustration.

"We're in the family room, hurry up!" The brunette snapped then returned her attention to the redhead before her. But as Ranma began to continue she stiffened as Akane came into view. Kasumi assumed it had something to do with her sister's part in what really happened, but soon realized it was more than that as she caught sight of what was in Akane's arms.

With narrowed eyes Ranma locked gazes with the small piglet in her former fiance's arms. Said piglet flinched as Kasumi looked on sympathetically. Nabiki only rolled her eyes, thinking it was their old rivalry at work over how Ryoga used his curse. She couldn't have been more wrong. As her little sister claimed the seat next to her Nabiki's eyes widened. Ranma had looked from the piglet to her own lap and back again, and to the vocal surprise of Akane P-chan struggled against her grip to free himself and trotted meekly over to Ranma. The piglet then settled onto the redhead's lap with a contrite look, leaving the table sans Kasumi and Ranma to stare in shock.

"What the hell? Ranma! Give me back my P-chan." Akane demanded, almost rising from her seat.

The petite girl looked down at P-chan with a raised brow before lifting him up to Akane as if to acquiesce. He squirmed out of her grasp and promptly resumed his seat upon Ranma's lap, anxiously looking up at her as if awaiting her reaction. He calmed as her hand lay gently upon his back.

"He doesn't seem to want to Akane-san." She said cooly. "Perhaps after I've a-asked a few questions about something that's come to my attention we'll t-try again."

If it weren't for the palpable tension in the air Ryoga was sure he would have been lulled to sleep by Ranma's gentle caresses. He'd never felt so relaxed in this form, a content sigh escaped his snout of it's own volition. This only seemed to irritate the youngest Tendo further, seeing her beloved pet not only abandon her for someone else, but seeming to enjoy their attentions far more than her own.

"I don't care what kind of questions you have 'Ranma', give him back!" Akane snapped and stood to her feet.

Ranma remained seated, continuing her petting of the almost dosing piglet in her lap, although it startled at the raised voice.

"Akane, Ranma-chan is a guest. You will not speak to her in such a way." Kasumi scolded her younger sister, but the younger girl merely huffed.

"You can call this girl 'Ranma' all you want, it doesn't make it true. Look at her! Do you really think he'd dress or act like this?" She ranted.

Nabiki tried to interject but was brushed aside in her younger sister's tirade.

"Ranma's gone!, this 'girl'." She spat. "Is just some damaged leftovers that everyone has to put up with!"

She stomped out of the room, the slamming of the front door followed.

"That certainly went w-well." The redhead quipped breaking the silence after Akane's abrupt departure. She waved off Kasumi's attempt to assuage whatever feelings had been stirred by her sister's outburst.

"It's fine, she d-doesn't know." She stated. "At least she's being honest instead of that condescending c-crap."

Ranma sighed as she walked through the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings of Nerima Ward. Her thoughts on what she had discussed with the Tendo sisters minus Akane.

It was surprising to hear that her childhood friend had stayed in Nerima. Ranma wasn't so conceited as to think that just because of what happened that the lives of those around her would suddenly cease, that they would pack up and leave the moment she was no longer the center of their lives. But she had assumed by how everyone spoke of how much she blamed herself, that Ukyo would want to leave this place far behind. Ranma knew she would have, hell, she had tried. And if not for the man turned piglet in her arms she would have been long gone.

"What d-do you think P-chan?" She asked the piglet still in her arms. "Should we go see her?"

Of course she didn't get an answer from her passenger, and even if she had it would have just been cute little pig noises. But he did give an equivalent of a shrug.

"You're a great help." She quipped. "You should learn to wr-write signs like Pops or something."

Ryoga had indeed tried, more than once in fact, but his hooves offered far less dexterity than her father's paws.

"Should probably wait anyway." Ranma murmured. "I'm sure it would take a while, a-and I have school tomorrow. Ugh, it's so boring P-chan. You're so l-lucky you don't have to go."

At his slight downcast expression Ranma realized her blunder. "Oh! I'm sorry Ryoga, I d-didn't think..I mean of course you would want to g-go..." Now she felt like an ass. He was unable to participate in any normal things kids their age got to experience, just walking down the street was a struggle sometimes. They were almost eighteen and he probably hadn't been to school since they were thirteen. She hugged him to her chest consolingly, missing his sudden wide-eyed look. "I guess I still have the habit of p-putting my foot in my mouth huh?"

She received no response, not only because her companion was currently unable to speak, but was also unconscious and being squeezed between the redhead's breasts.

Ranma's face reddened considerably and adjusted him into a less compromising position. She was flustered by both her actions and his response, but couldn't fight the beginnings of a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

It was just past the witching hour and Ryoga, now in his birth form lay upon the roof of the Saotome's. He had been told in no uncertain terms that he would be staying until they had located his pack. Ranma's mother perplexed him, he'd never been anywhere that the host forced you to be an overnight guest. Not that he wasn't appreciative, but it was like she didn't want him to leave.

Someone joined him on the roof and lay next to him, he didn't have to look to know who it was.

"Couldn't sleep?" Ranma asked from his left.

He chuckled, still looking to the stars. "Shouldn't this situation be reversed?"

She only scoffed. "It's not my fault you g-got out here before me, we can try again y-you know. You can leave and come back." He could hear the grin in her voice.

"Do you want to talk about today?" He asked. "Would have asked earlier, but a certain someone didn't let me change back until dinner."

"It's not my fault P-chan is so cuddly, d-didn't exactly hear you complaing though."

Ryoga flushed, glad it was dark so it wasn't visible. "Well, first of all I was mostly unconscious because of your little.." He trailed off, his hands still gesticulating, unable to think of a word for whatever that was.

"Pfft, they're anything b-but little."

His head snapped to the side with eyes wide in astonishment, Ranma was sure she heard a crack.

"You can't..you can't just say things like that!."

"Like what?" She asked innocently, struggling not to laugh as he sputtered.

He continued to flounder and Ranma couldn't hold it in any longer, she burst into a bout of giggles and snorts of laughter.

"Dammit Ranma! It's not funny!"

"Yes, yes it is!" She gasped wiping tears from her eyes.

He had sat up and was trying to look angry, only half succeeding. Ranma had a very infectious laugh. She had sobered enough to sit up as well, still wiping her eyes a bit and catching her breath.

"Don't be like that Ryoga-kuuun." She bumped his shoulder with hers. "Just h-having a litte fun with you."

He glared at her halfheartedly. "You know how that stuff affects me, you teased me enough from before to know that."

"I did?" She looked surprised.

Okay, so maybe she didn't know.

"Well, yeah. You fooled me so many times into thinking a girl actually liked me. Even managed to convince me you were my sister that I didn't know about once."

"Oh, I-I hadn't remembered that. I'm sorry though, I was just pl-playing around."

The boy beside her sighed. "It's alright, I'm just not used to physical things like that."

"What things?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"Hugs and things I guess, from girls anyway. Pretty sure that's why you always managed to fool me, I've never been around girls that liked me in that way." He sighed. "But then some girl would pop up and hug me saying how much she liked me and what not, I would get so flustered that I really didn't pay attention."

A pair of arms wrapped around him from his left, startling him. Ranma had moved closer and was hugging him, her head resting against his shoulder.

"Uhh.." He said intelligently.

"We're g-going to work on our lack of hug experience P-chan, I've r-received too few myself and given even fewer."

Ryoga had froze at the contact, being held as P-chan was far different than actual human intimacy. He had no idea how to react, this wasn't some sobbing girl that needed to be comforted, this was one hugging him for no reason other than just wanting to, and it was Ranma.

"It's okay, you..you don't have to.."

"Shut up and put your arm around m-me Ryoga."

He hesitantly moved his arm around her waist and she scooted closer. This had to be the most bizarre, scary, and best thing he had ever been apart of.

They could finish their talk tomorrow.

* * *

The school day was crawling by. Ranma was anxious about the upcoming meeting with Ukyo, she had no idea how it would play out. She had limited memories of the chef, a few of her cooking okonomiyaki, and glimpses of when they were little. So engrossed in her thoughts she hadn't realized it was time for lunch and was almost alone in the classroom. The redhead sighed, well at least it meant the day was half over.

Not only was she apprehensive about Ukyo, she had also forgotten her lunch. Not that she was all that hungry, but still. She made her way to her customary spot but stopped short when she realized it was already occupied. "You g-gotta be kidding me." Sitting there was Ryoga, he had his eyes closed as if meditating, beside him sat two bentos. Come on! What was this, some sort of romantic comedy? Cheesey didn't begin to cover it, and coincidentally right after their little moment on the roof. This had to be her mother's doing, she was like a damn ninja if she had been watching without either herself or Ryoga noticing.

"When d-did she bring you here pig-butt?"

He didn't open his eyes but sighed. "Couldn't be more than fifteen minutes ago."

"I knew it." Ranma sat beside him and huffed. "Well, since you're here we can t-talk about going to Ukyo's."

Opening his eyes Ryoga gave her a questioning look. "You want me to go with you?"

She looked at him like he was stupid. "Well yeah, since mom w-went ahead and decided that you're my boyfriend, you're pretty much obligated to come for m-moral support."

"Wait! Boyfriend?! But I'm. And you!, and there's..she can't just..!" He sputtered as he waved his arms about.

"Easy there P-chan, n-no need to blow a fuse." She smirked. "Mom obviously saw us l-last night and jumped to conclusions."

He calmed somewhat. "But why would she? She knows you used to be a guy!"

Ranma rolled her eyes and picked up one of the bentos and passing him the other. "There's a key word in that s-sentence Ryoga."

"But still, she can't expect that just because you lost your memory that you would suddenly be attracted to guys." He began to eat, still shaking his head. It was absurd.

He managed to catch her embarrassed look and began to cough roughly, choking on his food.

"Are you serious?" He croaked. "This is one of your jokes isn't it?" He asked dubiously.

Ranma kept eating but gave a slight shake of her head, flushing slightly.

He didn't say anything else, he just continued with his lunch. Ranma gave him a few looks out of the corner of her eye to judge his reaction, obviously he was in stunned disbelief. She was too when she realized it the first time. Imagine to her horror when she almost tripped and fell flat on her face because she was too busy admiring a boy's shirtless torso. That conversation with her mother was as uncomfortable as it could get.

"Come on Ryoga, you're m-making this awkward." She said sternly, turning to face him. He had looked up at her at least.

"It's not the end of the w-world you know."

"Well yeah but.."

"Stop, w-we've gotten way off t-topic here. Will you come with m-me? I'd really appreciate it P-chan, I m-might chicken out if I have to g-g-go alone."

There was a slight waver in her voice, and her stutter always got worse when she was emotional. If he said no he was pretty sure the Kami would strike him down right here on this bench.

"Alright, but you have to help me find my pack afterwards. Even if they can't pick it up, people can still take stuff out of it."

Ranma hugged him. Her words of thanks were muffled by his shirt.

"I..you're, it's fine..you." He stammered, beginning to panic at the contact.

"Shut up a-and put you're arm around me Ryoga."

And like the night before his arm tentatively encircled her waist as she scooted closer.

From a distance just beyond the school entrance Nodoka watched them with a teary smile, she of course felt guilty for interfering in her child's life. But the way she shined in the presence of this boy, it was wonderful, her Ranma shown through. Not the meek girl she had met at the hospital, or the withdrawn daughter of months past. She wiped her tears but her smile remained as she made her way back home.

Ranma didn't return to class after lunch, not that she ever paid attention anyway. Not wanting to force Ryoga to wait outside the school until the final bell it was decided they would look around for the lost boy's pack.

"Anything look familiar? Were you splashed around here or s-someplace else?"

Ryoga looked at his surroundings. Honestly it all looked the same really.

"I'm pretty sure it was here, It wasn't long after I left your house."

The pair searched the different alleyways and side streets fruitlessly. Ranma joked that it could have gotten lost, earning a moderate glare from the boy beside her.

"Even if it h-had, it couldn't have gotten far, it weighs l-like a million pounds." She laughed, which earn her a poke in the ribs. Ranma yelped in surprise before sticking her tongue out at him.

"Maybe it's in Nerima, or s-somewhere inbetween. It'll turn up eventually P-chan."

"Yeah." Ryoga had a pensive look on his face, She assumed he was thinking about what he would do if they didn't find it.

"Don't worry Ryoga, we'll find it. W-weve only been looking for a couple of hours, no n-need to look so mopey.

He didn't respond, so Ranma waved her hand in front of his eyes breaking his train of thought.

"Huh?" He replied blinking a few times, causing the redhead at his side to roll her eyes.

"Contemplating life's mysteries Ryoga-kun?" He flinched slightly at the playful suffix, earning him a questioning look.

"Uh, no. Just about earlier, you know...the whole 'being a girl' thing." He had a light flush to his cheeks.

"Really? You're st-still on that?" She sounded exasperated. "It's not like it was easy you know, you can't possibly imagine how confusing it was to be almost overwhelmed b-being around all of those half naked girls in the locker r-room only to later catch myself ogling s-some guy!"

Ryoga shook his head rapidly, she looked pissed. Ranma punched his shoulder forcefully.

"Don't g-g-get all weird on me P-chan, I haven't sud-suddenly become some lecherous bimbo, I'm just the same as I w-w-was before you knew about it!"

"I'm sorry I didn't.."

"Save it!" Ranma all but growled.

An uncomfortable silence ensued, Ranma fuming beside him as they walked. He had just been a little confused about the whole thing. Okay, a lot confused. But he didn't mean to upset her, he would let her cool down and apologize again.

They had walked quite a while, Ranma was still mad, but had calmed somewhat, looking only extremely irritated. She was suddenly in front of him, a frown still marring her features.

"I'm sorry I snapped at y-you, it's still strange for me."

She was apologizing? Sometimes he forgot that Ranma was far more mature than before, so was he for that matter. A sword to your throat and nine months to contemplate the way Saotome-san had decimated his flawed logic could apparently do wonders.

"Say something or I'll take it back Pig-brain." She demanded.

Ryoga swallowed his surprise at the abrupt apology. "It's okay, I'm sorry if I seemed like I was fixating on it. I was just confused, not on the why, but the how. Sorry."

The frown was still present but didn't seem to be cut as deep. "The doctor didn't know either, i-it's probably magic or some crap. Pops said Shampoo and them took off after they helped w-with locking the curse, so I can't even ask them about it."

He seemed to want to say more on the topic but Ranma stopped him with a raised hand before he could voice it.

"If you have a p-problem with this, if it makes you uncomfortable, j-just say so. We don't have to hang out or be friends." Her tone brooked no argument.

Ryoga looked down at her hardened eyes, her frown, and her balled fists. This was an all or nothing moment, even he could see that. He steeled himself for what he was about to do.

He stepped forward and hesitantly embraced her.

Ranma was of course shocked, she had been preparing for any number of reactions, but this certainly wasn't one of them. She just stood there dumbly with her arms limp at her sides, her head against his chest.

"But a-are you s-sure that.."

"Shut up and put your arms around me Ranma."


End file.
